Bhubaneswar, Aug. 16: Commuters continue to suffer while passing the Pokhariput level crossing, thanks to the dillydallying attitude of the public works department, which has failed to complete the work on a railway overbridge here.

The work on the bridge, local residents say, has stopped abruptly since the past three months, leading to a chaotic situation for commuters using the road below which is now filled with potholes. Besides, long wait at the crossing became another major problem for the residents here.

"The road bellow the under-construction bridge is absolutely difficult to ply on. The recent rain has made the situation even worse. We are forced to use it since it is the shortest route to reach out to various destinations," said Pokhariput resident Jagannath Patra.

Once completed, the bridge will connect people from Pokhariput, Khandagiri, Jagamara, Lingaraj Vihar and Palaspalli on one side to Kapila Prasad, Azad Nagar, Sundarpada, Aradhana Nagar, Bhimtangi and Kapileswar on the other. Commuters would have to cover a distance of more than 15km had they not taken this route. For example, a commuter will have to travel 2.3km from Pokhariput to Sundarpada once the bridge comes up. But now, one has to cover about 15km to reach Sundarpada from Pokhariput through Forest Park.

Bhimatangi resident Jigyansha Mohanty said there were no alternative routes other than this crossing to reach out to Old Town. "It will double or triple the distance if we take some other routes. The railway overbridge is a must here. But looking at the pace of work, it seems that it will never complete," said Mohanty, a schoolteacher.

The works department, in collaboration with the East Coast Railway, had taken up the project to construct this railway overbridge. The state government had sanctioned the project during 2008-09, while the work on it started during 2012-13. The bridge job was supposed to be completed in two years during 2014-15, but it still hangs fire.

The railway was supposed to construct the bridge over the tracks, while the public works department had to construct the connecting and approach roads. While the overbridge is 401 metres long, the approach road from the Bhimatangi end will be 161 metres and from the Pokhariput end, it will be 88 metres. There will be 15 pillars - three to be built by the railway and the rest by the works department.

The project was pegged at Rs 44 crore. "The construction of all the pillars has completed. We are working on the connecting and approach roads. We will ask our construction partner to build and maintain the alternative road till the construction of the bridge gets completed," said works department chief engineer (roads) O.P. Patel.

However, sources said the works department was having some administrative issues with the project execution. "Earlier in the beginning, there had been some problems in land acquisition. Local vendors near the bridge opposed an eviction drive during the land acquisition process. It led to the delay. Simultaneously, its cost got escalated. Our executing partner has told us about it and given a proposal. We will put it for sanction soon," said a works official.

He further said that due to the delay in sanction of the differed amount, the executing partner has stopped the work on the bridge. "It is highly irresponsible of the administration to delay the project in such a manner. The bridge is hanging fire since for the past four years. They should come up with solution and complete the work as soon as possible," said Satyabhama Mishra, a vegetable shop owner at Pokhariput Square.

Mishra is not affected by the project since she has her shop at least 200 metres away from the bridge near a small market complex at Pokhariput Square. However, some vendors had opposed the project in the beginning on the ground that once the bridge came up, they would get no customers.